NIH issues flu advisory.

ISLAMABAD -- With ever-mutating flu viruses every year, the National Institute of Health (NIH) has issued an advisory to alert and help health authorities and other stakeholders be ready and deal with the increased workload over the next few months.

'Continuous changes make influenza an unpredictable disease with varying extent of spread, timing, severity and length of the season,' the NIH said in a statement.

'The flu cases increase as temperature falls during December and February.'

The NIH advisory was aimed at alerting and helping the health authorities and other stakeholders to ensure 'timely preventive and control measures encompassing preparedness to deal with increased workload expected in the outpatient and inpatient departments during the next few months', it said.

The advisory said seasonal flu could spread from one person to another through coughing or sneezing or through contaminated hands or other surfaces.

Patients with chronic diseases - such as...